Bengal-Tamil Connection : Coins & Clans
ЁЯТа BENGAL-TAMIL CONNECTION ЁЯТа
The Bengali connection with Tamils was first discussed when the Gaudiya script or Bengali alphabet was found on the coins Parakesari Madurantaka Uttama Chola (971-985 AD), son of Gangaraditya. Later, various mythological sources suggest that the origin of the Tamils was in the Tamalitti (Tamralipta) port of the south-western region of Bengal, and the name Tamil is a short form of the Prakrit word Tamalitti. The Tamraliptas mentioned in the Vayupurana and Vishnupurana were the inhabitants of Bangala and the adjacent sea coast who migrated from Tamalitti (Tamaralipti) and went to South India to form the new Tamil nation.
The name Tamil appears to be only an abbreviation of the word Tamalitti. The Tamraliptas were inhabitants of Bengal & adjoining sea coasts in the Vayu and Vishnu Purans. They were known as Tamil, most probably because they had emigrated from Tamlitti (Tamralipti).
Another tribe of the Tamils was the Vanavar or "Celestials. They were evidently natives of a mountainous region in the North of Bengal, and when they settled in Southern India, they chose for their residence hilly tracts, such as the Kolli-hills the Western Ghats.
In the 5th century B. C., Vijaya the leader of the first colony of Aryas, from Bengal, landed in Ceylon. The name Tamil appears to be therefore only an abbreviation of the word Tamalittis. The Tamraliptas were inhabitants of Bengal and the adjoining Sea-coast.
The Villavar and Minavar-The Nagas-Naga tribes: Maravar, Eyinar, Oliyar, Oviyar, Aruvalar, Parathavar immigrants from Tamilitti in Bengal called Tamils.
● King Gaudamanu:
Similar to Vijaya Singha, there is mention of another Bengali king who left Bengal and established new kingdoms outside. Vijaya Singha did it in Sri Lanka, and in this case another Bengali king, Gaudamanu, went to Tamil Nadu and established the kingdom. According to the legend preserved in the Nataraja Temple by noted epigraphist Sri Ramachandran C, a king named Gaudamanu from ancient Gaudadesha came to Tamilnadu and established rule in the Chidambaram region, from whom the Chola dynasty later built the Chola Empire.
Similarly, from the legend of the Nataraja temple, noted historian Sri C Jayaraman mentions that king Simhavarman who came to Thilai from Gaudadesh (Bangala) drowned in the waters of Thilai and took rebirth as Hiranyavarman. The Chola kings who were traditionally associated with the Thilai temple moved to Thilai from Bangala and ruled as 'Kaudesa Manu' (Gaudesh Manu). The connection between the Cholas and the Gaudiya races is also recorded in several documents.
According to the ancient Sangam literature there are five Naga tribes who migrated from Bengal and settled in Tamil Nadu, they are –
1) Velliyar – farmers;
2) Mazhawar – hill people who collect hill produce and trade it;
3) Nagar – the men assigned to border security, who guarded city walls and outlying forts;
4) Kadambara – those who live in forests and prosper;
5) Thiraiyar – Sailor. The Pallavas, another dynasty that ruled in the south, are said to belong to the Thiraiyar sect. Later sub-communities emerged and one of the important ones was the Maravars (warriors, conquerors and rulers; major Tamil dynasties including the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.)
Later, several Naga-worshipping tribes advanced from Bengal to establish their dominance in Tamil Nadu. Among these tribes the Maranas, Cheras and Pangala-Thiraiyas are the most prominent. As noted by Sri Amulyacharan Vidyabhushan, the Cheras advanced into South India from the north-west of Pangala or Bangala and established the historically significant and well-known “Chera” kingdom. It is significant that the Cheras are mentioned in the ancient Brahmanical literature as occupying the eastern part of the country of Magadha. In this case, there is a possibility that the origin of Pongal, the agricultural festival of Tamil Nadu, is from Bongal.
[Image 4: Coin of the Chera kingdom]
Another notable Maran tribe, who are believed to have been neighbors of the Cheras who migrated from Bangala, is equally important as the Pandya kings claimed Maran descent. The Marans, who were also called Maravars, were said to be very violent and warlike people and worshiped the goddess Kali who had a furious cobra on her hair. The Pangala-Thiraiyars are recorded as the last migrants and are described as having proceeded by boat from the coast of Bengal and established the Chola kingdom at Kanchi. As Pangala or Bangala is equivalent to the phrase Thira-Vangala, we can safely say that these castes had Aryan influence in Bangala before their departure to the Madras coast.
ЁЯТа ICONS -
Like the Pala dynasty of Bengal, the Cholas of Tamil used the tiger as their royal symbol, the use of the tiger symbol being significant with their association with the Bengal tiger of the Sundarbans. The fish symbol on the coins shows another great similarity as the fish-symbol was also used on the coins of the ancient Bengal settlements. The dancing Shiva idols which are both Nartyeshwar or Nateswar in Bengal and Nataraja in Tamil Nadu highlight the Shaivite connection. The contact and contribution of Bengali spiritual figures to the development of religious rituals in the Tamil country is documented in lithic records. It has already been established that a certain number of Bengali Shaivacharyas were appointed as Royal Priests by the Chola emperors. (R. Nagaswe; 1999). When the Chidambaram and later Chola temples were built, these Rajagurus were in charge of the religious affairs of the Chola kingdom.
[Image 5: Nartyeshwar/Nateshwar murti of Pala era Bengal and Nataraja murti of Chola era Tamilnadu]
The Palas of Bengal & Cholas of Tamilnadu both used Tiger as their Royal Emblem, symbolization of Fish shares another grand similarity. Dancing Shiva idol Narteshwar (Bengal) & Nataraj (Tamil) iconic.
ЁЯУЬ Sources :
[1] The Tamils - Eighteen Hundred Years Ago, by V Kanakasabhai
[2] Sakthi cult in Tamil Nadu: Reflections of Bengal Tradition, T. Satyamurthy
[3] Origin of Cholas- Tamil Myth, Controversies in History.
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